Pants with cooling feature

ABSTRACT

A pair of pants including ventilation openings is disclosed. In one aspect, the pants include a right front panel connected to a right rear panel to form a right leg of the pants and a left front panel connected to a left rear panel to form a left leg of the pants. The right rear panel and the left rear panel each include a vent which extends downwardly from each rear panel and terminates at a downwardly directed opening, facilitating airflow through the pair of pants.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 toU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/859,686 filed on Nov. 16, 2006,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of apparel, and moreparticularly, to a pair of pants having a cooling feature.

BACKGROUND

One concern of individuals engaged in outdoor activities during moderateto high temperature conditions, is body heat. As a result of physicalactivity and exertion, substantial heat may be generated by a person'sbody. Thus, individuals engaged in outdoor activities, such as sportingevents, often are concerned about heat generated from the externalenvironment and heat generated internally due to physical exertion.

The human body relies upon evaporative cooling to combat excessive heat.For example, the human body begins to sweat once core body temperaturereaches a certain level. The cooling action associated with sweatevaporation functions to lower body temperature. Sweat evaporation isdependent upon the relative humidity or water vapor pressure of the airin contact with the skin surface. Inadequate air flow (ventilation)causes the humidified air to become trapped in areas surrounding theskin, thereby inhibiting evaporation and cooling of the body. Inabilityto dissipate body heat during exercise, especially in a warmenvironment, can lead to an increase in body temperature and possiblyadverse health conditions such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

A number of known body garments including body suits, jackets, shirts,pants, and the like have been designed to facilitate airflow byincluding one or more openings, generally referred to as vents, in thegarment to allow additional air to flow through the garment. Thesegarments are typically designed for bicyclists and motorcyclists. Thevents are often adjustable so that a user may adjust the amount ofairflow depending upon the surrounding conditions.

In addition to utilizing garments with specific airflow features, thebody can be cooled by wearing less clothing. For example, a sportsparticipant may choose to wear shorts instead of pants when competing ortraining in high temperatures. However, certain outdoor sporting events,such as golf, often require participants to abide by a particular dresscode and therefore, do not allow participants to alter their clothingdepending upon the weather. For example, male golfers are typicallyrequired to wear trousers (not shorts) when playing in a professionaltournament or at a specific golf course. These requirements often resultin golfers experiencing discomfort ranging from mild to severe whenfaced with playing in high temperatures for long periods of time.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an article of clothing thatallows additional air to flow through the clothing, especially when thearticle is a pair of pants.

SUMMARY

A pair of pants including vents for cooling a wearer of the pants isdisclosed. In one aspect, the pants include a right front panelconnected to a right rear panel to form a right leg of the pants and aleft front panel connected to a left rear panel to form a left leg ofthe pants. The right rear panel and the left rear panel each include avent which extends downwardly from each rear panel and terminates at adownwardly directed opening, facilitating airflow through the pair ofpants. In another aspect, the pants include a vent located in thevicinity of the waistband.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the disclosure willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description, whichproceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is front view of a pair of pants illustrating a waistline ventextending substantially horizontally across a rear portion of the pantsand proximate to the waistband.

FIG. 2 is rear view of the pair of pants shown in FIG. 1, with onesection thereof removed for purposes of illustration, in which the pantsinclude a vent on each leg portion of the pant in addition to thewaistline vent.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the pair of pants shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the pair of pants shown in FIG. 3 with sectionsthereof removed for purposes of illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Introduction

The present disclosure provides a pair of pants with ventilationopenings that allow additional air to flow through the clothing toprovide cooling ventilation. In one embodiment, the ventilation openingsare covered with mesh. In a preferred embodiment, the vents arepositioned to provide additional ventilation to skin areas that producemore sweat than other areas such as the back of a user's knees. Forexample, vents are positioned to extend from the back of each knee toopenings located below the knees. In a further example, a vent extendssubstantially horizontally across the rear portion of the pants andproximate to a waistband to facilitate airflow through the leg portionsof the pants as well as to the lower back region of the user.

The vents included within the presently disclosed pants can besubstantially concealed by flaps. The flaps can be formed out of thesame fabric as the pants as a whole. This design allows the pants toappear as traditional pants while having the benefit of the additionalcooling feature(s). For example, the disclosed pants in the form oftrousers can be worn by a golfer who is participating in certainprofessional golf tournaments having a dress code that prohibits shorts.Further, the vents provide additional airflow through the trousers tohelp cool the golfer and thereby reduce or eliminate the discomfortoften caused by high temperatures and/or high humidity.

II. Terms

Unless otherwise explained, all technical terms used herein have thesame meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the artto which the disclosed subject matter belongs. As used herein, thesingular terms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unlesscontext clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the word “or” isintended to include “and” unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “comprises” means “includes.”Hence “comprising A or B” means including A, or B, or A and B. Inaddition, the materials and examples described herein are illustrativeonly and not intended to be limiting.

As used herein, the term “pants” includes clothing for the body belowthe waist. In one example, “pants” refer to a long outer garment wornover the hips and legs that terminates below a user's ankle. Such“pants” with long pant legs can be referred to as trousers or slacks. Inan additional example, “pants” denote an outer garment worn over thehips and legs that terminates above a user's ankle. For example, croppedpants or Capri pants. In a further example, “pants” denote an outergarment worn over the hips and legs that terminates approximately atslightly below, at or above a user's knee. Such “pants” can be referredto as a shorts, a skort or a skirt. Therefore, as defined herein, theterm pants is used generically to include trousers, slacks, croppedpants, Capri pants, shorts, skorts or skirts. In the description of thepresent invention it will be appreciated from the context in which theterm “pants” is used that the described features may not apply to allspecies of pants as defined herein. For example, the waistband vent issuitable for trousers, slacks, cropped pants, Capri pants, shorts,skorts, skirts, and the like, whereas the leg vents are suitable fortrousers, slacks, cropped pants and Capri pants, but not for wearablebottoms lacking pant legs or pant legs of sufficient length (e.g., legsterminating approximately at or below a user's mid-calf).

III. Description of Several Embodiments

The present disclosure provides a pair of pants 100 including vents. Inan embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the pair of pants 100 includesa right front panel 102 and left front panel 104. As shown in FIG. 2,the pair of pants 100 includes a left rear panel 106 and a right rearpanel 108. In an example, the right front panel 102 is connected to theright rear panel 108 to form a right leg of the pants 100 and the leftfront panel 104 is attached to the right rear panel 106 to form a leftleg of the pants 100. In an additional embodiment, as illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, the pair of pants 100 can include a waistband 109 thatpartially encircles the wearer's waist.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, the left rear panel 106 and theright rear panel 108 of each preferably includes a rear panel vent or“knee” vent 110 (one shown) to facilitate airflow through the pants 100.The knee vents permit air to enter and exit the interior of the pants inthe area behind each knee and areas adjacent each knee (as, for example,the lower hamstring and upper calf areas), each rear panel or knee vent110 is covered with an air permeable material that permits passage ofair therethrough.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air permeable material preferably is a mesh orperforated material 112. Most preferably, the mesh material is astretchable mesh type of fabric so that the material will stretch withmovement by the wearer. For example, the mesh material 112 may have asubstantially open, stretchable texture such as a polyester mesh, nylonmesh, cotton mesh or a combination thereof. The use of stretchablefabric is particularly desirable for individuals that are engaged inphysical activities such as playing golf which require large and/orrapid movement of their legs, arms, torso, and the like. The stretchablematerial improves the comfort and flexibility of the pants and therebyallows a wearer's movement not to be constrained by the pants 100.

It will be appreciated that the air permeable material preferablyprovides airflow openings large enough to promote easy airflowtherethrough. Since the air permeable material preferably is covered byanother fabric, such as a “breathable” fabric (e.g., ClimaCool®material; ClimaCool® is a registered trademark of adidas), it is notnecessary for the air permeable material to have significant “windbreaking” or heat insulating properties.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the mesh material 112 is secured to each rearpanel, and preferably includes a first end 116 and a second end 118. Thefirst end 116 preferably is secured to the rear panel in the area of theknee or above the knee while the second end 118 is secured to the rearpanel below the knee. It is contemplated that the mesh material 112 maybe secured to the rear panel by a variety of mechanisms includingstitching, hook and loop fastening material, and other securingmechanisms known by one of ordinary skill in the art.

In a further embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, each rearpanel includes a rear panel flap 114 that overlaps the mesh material112. Each rear panel flap 114 includes a first end 119 and a second end120. The first end 119 is attached to the rear panel, while the secondend 120 is substantially free from attachment and provides a wideopening to facilitate airflow into and out of the interior of the pantsin the area of the knee, calf or hamstring. In a preferred embodiment,each rear panel flap 114 substantially overlaps the mesh material 112and is formed of the same material as the remaining pants in order toconceal or reduce the visibility of the vent 110. For example, each rearpanel flap may extend about one inch below the second (lower) end of themesh material. It will be appreciated that if the rear panel flapextends, for example, twelve inches below the mesh material, theventilation feature likely will be less effective. A rear panel flapthat terminates along the same line as the mesh material or above thelower end of the mesh material would expose the mesh and give the pantsan unattractive appearance. The overlap and common fabric features areadvantageous because they allow a wearer to appear to be wearingtraditional pants while still having the benefit of the cooling feature.

It is contemplated that the pants and the rear panel flap 114 can bemade of any material suitable for the particular activity for which thepants are designed. For example, nylon or other synthetic fibers eitheralone or in blend with cotton or other fibers can be used for the rearpanel flap and pants. For instance, the pants and the rear panel flapmay be constructed from ClimaCool® (registered trademark of adidas)material. ClimaCool® material is designed to conduct heat and sweat awayfrom the body through a combination of heat and moisture-dissipatingmaterials, micro-ventilation channels, and three-dimensional fabricsthat allow air to circulate close to the skin. Water- and/orwind-resistant materials may be used, depending on the application.

With continued reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, each rear panel vent 110extends downwardly and terminates at a downwardly directed opening. Inone example, the rear panel vent extends from a point above the back ofa knee and terminates at an opening located below the back of the knee.In an additional example, each rear panel vent terminates atapproximately a user's mid-calf. Each rear panel vent preferablyterminates at an opening that extends substantially horizontally acrossthe rear panel and extends about one-half way around the leg, frominseam to outseam, to provide a relatively large vent and provide aconstruction conducive to causing the rear panel vent to lie largelyagainst the rear panel (and not in a state of perpetual billowing). Thelocation and construction of the vent is believed to create a certainamount of forced airflow as the wearer's normal walking movement movesthe flap toward and away from the back of the knee. It will beappreciated that certain types of pants or wearable bottoms, such asskirts, skorts, and shorts, do not have pant legs of sufficient lengthto form leg vents in accordance with the present invention. Further,such types of pants already offer sufficient leg ventilation.

In another embodiment, airflow through each of the rear panel vents 110is controllable by moving each vent from a first position to a secondposition. The first position may be an open position in which air isallowed to flow through the vent, and the second position may be aclosed or partially closed position in which air is prevented frompassing through the vent. This control feature is advantageous for itallows a wearer of the pants to alter the amount of ventilationdepending upon the conditions. A golfer (for example) may prefer toclose the knee vents at the start of a round of golf, when the golfer isnot fully warmed up or weather conditions are cool, but partially openor fully open the vents as the golfer becomes warmed up or the ambientair temperature increases. In one example, the control mechanism islocated at the knee vent opening to attach the open end of the knee ventto the rear panel to close the opening. This configuration allows ventmovement to be controlled while still maintaining the general appearanceof conventional pants. It is contemplated that various attachmentmechanisms can be employed including a zipper, hook and loop fasteningmaterial, and a series of fasteners such as snaps, buttons, and thelike.

In an additional embodiment, the pair of pants 100 includes anadditional vent such as a waistline vent 121. For example, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the waistline vent 121 can extend substantiallyhorizontally across the rear portion of the pants 100 and proximate to awaistband 109 to facilitate airflow through the waist area of the pants.It is contemplated that the waistline vent 121 may be covered with amesh material 122 of a substantially open texture including polyestermesh, nylon mesh, cotton mesh or a combination thereof. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 4, the mesh material 122 has a first end 124attached to the waistband 109 and a second end 126 attached to a seatportion of the pants 100. The mesh material can be attached by methodsknown to those of ordinary skill in the art including stitching. As withmesh material 112, the mesh material 122 preferably has openings largeenough to facilitate easy airflow through the material. The primarypurpose of the material is not to create a wind break barrier, heatinsulation layer or water resistant barrier.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the waistline vent 121 can be coveredwith a waistline vent flap 128. The waistline vent flap 128 includes afirst edge 130 attached to the waistband 109 and a second edge 132 thatis substantially free of attachment. This design facilitates airflow tothe upper portion of the pants along the waistline as well as throughthe leg portions of the pants. In a preferred embodiment, the movementof the waistline vent flap 128 is controlled and the waistline vent flap128 is configured to overlap or extend beyond the mesh material 122. Inone example, the waistline vent flap extends below the lowermost edge ofthe mesh material by about one-half inch to hide the mesh material foraesthetic purposes and discourage external rain or moisture fromentering the pants through the waistline vent. In another example, thewaistline vent flap 128 optionally may be secured to a seat portion ofthe pants below the second end 126 by one or more fastening mechanismsto control vent movement. It is contemplated that various fasteningmechanisms can be employed including a stitch, hook and loop fasteningmaterial, a hook and eye latch, a snap, a button or a combinationthereof. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the fastening mechanism may consistof a seam 133 (FIG. 2) to secure a central portion of the vent flap 128to the mesh material and/or one or more stitches 134 to tack the loweredge of the vent 121 to the seat portion of the pants. Further, as shownin FIG. 2, the waistline flap can be secured at multiple sites extendingalong the flap's lower edge to prevent the flap 128 from bellowing outunder windy conditions. This optional feature and seam feature areadvantageous for they allow the pants to appear as traditional pants(the waistline flap concealing or reducing the visibility of thewaistline vent) while providing additional cooling to the wearer. Theyfacilitate the vent lying flat against the pants while permittingairflow to enter and exit the vent openings.

In the illustrated embodiment, the waistline vent encircles aboutone-half of the waist, terminating at or in the vicinity of the leftpocket line at one end and the right pocket line at the other end. Itwill be appreciated that the vent can be shortened.

In a further embodiment, a pair of pants including a pair of legportions extending at least to the wearer's mid-thigh is disclosed(e.g., shorts or a skort). In this embodiment, the pair of pantsincludes a waistband that encircles a waist of a wearer of the pants anda mid-section encircling a portion located between and connected to thewaistband and leg portions. The mid-section encircling portion caninclude a front portion and a rear portion. The mid-section encirclingportion has a vent extending substantially horizontally across the rearportion and proximate to the waistband to facilitate airflow through thepair of pants. In an example, the vent is covered with mesh materialwhich, in turn, is at least substantially overlapped with a flap aspreviously described above. It is contemplated that the vent and thebody of the pants can be composed of breathable material such asClimacool® fabric.

In an additional embodiment, pants extending to at least to the wearer'smid-thigh are disclosed (e.g., a skirt). In this embodiment, the pantsinclude a waistband that encircles a waist of a wearer of the pants anda mid-section encircling a portion located between and connected to thewaistband and leg portions. The mid-section encircling portion caninclude a front portion and a rear portion. The mid-section encirclingportion has a vent extending substantially horizontally across the rearportion and proximate to the waistband to facilitate airflow through thepants. In an example, the vent is covered with mesh material which, inturn, is at least substantially overlapped with a flap as previouslydescribed above. The vent and the body of the pants can be composed ofbreathable material such as Climacool® fabric.

Although the instant disclosure primarily concerns the use of thedisclosed pants for an outdoor activity such as golf, it is contemplatedthat the pants are suitable for numerous activities such as hiking,tennis and walking.

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of thedisclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that theillustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the invention andshould not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, thescope of the invention is defined by the following claims. We thereforeclaim as our invention all that comes within the scope and spirit ofthese claims.

1. A pair of pants, comprising: a right front panel connected to a rightrear panel to form a right leg of the pants; and a left front panelconnected to a left rear panel to form a left leg of the pants, whereinthe right rear panel and the left rear panel each includes a vent whichextends downwardly from each rear panel and terminates at a downwardlydirected opening to permit air to flow into and out of the left andright legs.
 2. The pair of pants of claim 1, wherein each rear panelvent is covered with a mesh material.
 3. The pair of pants of claim 2,wherein each leg includes a flap that at least substantially overlapsthe mesh material.
 4. The pair of pants of claim 3, wherein each flapextends beyond a lower edge of the mesh material.
 5. The pair of pantsof claim 1, wherein each rear panel vent extends downwardly from a pointgenerally above the backside of a user's knee and terminates at anopening located generally below the backside of a user's knee.
 6. Thepair of pants of claim 5, wherein each rear panel vent terminates atapproximately a user's mid-calf.
 7. The pair of pants of claim 1,wherein each leg has an inseam and an outseam, and each rear panel ventextends substantially horizontally from the inseam to the outseam. 8.The pair of pants of claim 1, wherein each pant leg terminates atapproximately below a user's ankle.
 9. The pair of pants of claim 1,wherein each pant leg terminates above a user's ankle.
 10. The pair ofpants of claim 1, further comprising a waist-encircling waistband and awaistline vent extending substantially horizontally across the rearportion of the pants and proximate to the waistband to facilitateairflow through the pair of pants.
 11. The pair of pants of claim 10,wherein the waistline vent is covered with a mesh material.
 12. The pairof pants of claim 11, further comprising a waistline vent flap whereinthe waistline vent flap at least substantially overlaps the meshmaterial.
 13. The pair of pants of claim 12, wherein the waistline ventflap has a first edge and a second edge, the first edge is attached tothe rear portion of the pants and the second edge is substantially freeof attachment.
 14. The pair of pants of claim 12, wherein the waistlinevent flap includes a mid-portion, and the mid-portion of the waistlinevent flap is secured to the rear portion of the pants by at least onefastening mechanism to control vent movement.
 15. The pair of pants ofclaim 14, wherein the fastening mechanism is one selected from the groupof a stitch, a hook and loop fastening material, a hook and eye latch, asnap, a button or a combination thereof.
 16. The pair of pants of claim15, wherein the fastening mechanism is a stitch.
 17. The pair of pantsof claim 1, wherein the panels of the pants are made of a breathablematerial.
 18. The pair of pants of claim 17, wherein the breathablematerial is Climacool® fabric.
 19. A pair of pants, comprising: a rightfront panel connected to a right rear panel to form a right leg of thepants; and a left front panel connected to a left rear panel to form aleft leg of the pants, wherein the right rear panel and the left rearpanel each include a vent which extends from a point above the backsideof a user's knee to an opening located below the backside of the user'sknee, each vent including an interior mesh material and a vent flap thatcovers the mesh material and at one end defines a generally downwardlydirected opening to facilitate airflow through each leg.
 20. The pair ofpants of claim 19, wherein each vent flap extends at least slightlybelow a lower edge of the mesh material.
 21. The pair of pants of claim19, wherein each vent extends downwardly from a point above a user'sback of a knee and terminates at an opening located below the user'sback of the knee.
 22. The pair of pants of claim 19, wherein each rearpanel vent terminates at approximately a user's mid-calf.
 23. The pairof pants of claim 19, wherein each pant leg terminates at approximatelybelow a user's ankle.
 24. The pair of pants of claim 19, wherein eachpant leg terminates above a user's ankle.
 25. The pair of pants of claim19, further comprising a waistband that encircles a waist of a wearer ofthe pants and a waistline vent extending substantially horizontallyacross the rear portion of the pants and proximate to the waistband tofacilitate airflow through the pair of pants.
 26. The pair of pants ofclaim 25, wherein the waistline vent is covered with a mesh material.27. The pair of pants of claim 26, further comprising a waistline ventflap wherein the waistline vent flap at least substantially overlaps themesh material.
 28. The pair of pants of claim 27, wherein the waistlinevent flap has a first edge and a second edge, the first edge is attachedto the rear portion of the pants and the second edge is substantiallyfree of attachment.
 29. The pair of pants of claim 27, wherein thewaistline vent flap includes a mid-portion, and the mid-portion of thewaistline vent flap is secured to the rear portion of the pants by atleast one fastening mechanism to control vent movement.
 30. The pair ofpants of claim 19, wherein the panels of the pants are made of abreathable material.
 31. The pair of pants of claim 19, wherein thebreathable material is Climacool® fabric.
 32. A pair of pants,comprising: a waist-encircling waistband; a pair of leg portions; and amid-section encircling portion located between and connected to thewaistband and leg portions, the mid-section encircling portion having afront portion and a rear portion, wherein the mid-section encirclingportion has a vent extending substantially horizontally across the rearportion and proximate to the waistband to facilitate airflow through thepair of pants.
 33. The pair of pants of claim 32, wherein the waistlinevent is covered by a mesh material secured to the waistband and rearportion.
 34. The pair of pants of claim 33, further comprising awaistline flap that at least substantially overlaps the mesh material.35. The pair of pants of claim 34, wherein the waistline flap has afirst edge and a second edge, and the first edge is attached to thewaistband and the second edge is substantially free of attachment. 36.The pair of pants of claim 35, wherein the waistline flap includes amid-portion, the mid-portion being secured to the mid-section circlingportion below the mesh material by at least one fastening mechanism. 37.The pair of pants of claim 36, wherein the fastening mechanism is astitch, a hook and loop fastening material, a hook and eye latch, asnap, a button or a combination thereof.
 38. The pair of pants of claim37, wherein the fastening mechanism is a series of stitches.
 39. Thepair of pants of claim 32, wherein the leg portions of the pants aremade of a breathable material.
 40. The pair of pants of claim 39,wherein the breathable material is Climacool® fabric.
 41. The pair ofpants of claim 32, wherein each pant leg terminates approximately at orabove a user's knee.
 42. The pair of pants of claim 32, wherein eachpant leg terminates above a user's ankle.